This week’s PGA Tour event is the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus and it takes place at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio as it has every year since its inception in 1976.
Muirfield Village is a par 72 layout and there have been a number of changes to the course over the years. Fairways are generous and this favours the long hitters, but there is plenty of trouble for wayward shots and the rough ensures this is a course where the majority of players have a fair crack at winning.
Jon Rahm tops the betting boards at 10/1 ahead of Rory McIlroy at 12/1 exactly the same betting as we had for last year’s event. Course specialist Cantlay who is the defending champ and 2 time winner is 16/1 and you can get 20/1 Spieth and 22/1 and better the balance.
PAST WINNERS
2021 – Patrick Cantlay -13*
2020 – Jon Rahm -9
2019 – Patrick Cantlay -19
2018 – Bryson Dechambeau -15*
2017 – Jason Dufner -13
2016 – William McGirt -15*
Playoff *
BETTING – Click here to bet
Jon Rahm 10/1
Rory McIlroy 12/1
Patrick Cantlay 16/1
Jordan Spieth 20/1
Xander Schauffele 22/1
Cameron Smith 22/1
25/1 and better the balance, prices correct at the time of posting but are subject to change
SELECTIONS:
Jon Rahm each way at 10/1
Rahm has been a short price favourite in many of his starts this year and there was certainly a point where his supporters were wandering when he was going to win a game. He delivered in his penultimate start though and although he disappointed in the PGA Championship, the 2020 Champion must be fancied to go close again this week especially given last year he had a comfortable lead when forced to withdraw due to COVID. Rahm loves this course and has the perfect game for it and he is my main betting interest this week.
Patrick Cantlay each way at 16/1
Cantlay was also disappointing in the PGA Championship missing the cut, but prior to that he was coming off a victory and a runner-up finish so there is every reason to believe his game is in good shape. As mentioned above he is a 2 time winner of the event and in 6 starts he has never finished worse than 35th and also has a Top 10 and a Top 5 to his credit. Cantlay is accurate off the tee and quite simply loves this course.
Patrick Reed each way at 55/1
It is time to look a bit further down the betting boards and Patrick Reed certainly ticks the course form box with a 5th place finish last year and a 10th place finish the year before. Reed’s game hasn’t been in the greatest of shape, but he has been building form and last week delivered a Top 10 finish.
Matt Kuchar each way at 75/1
Kuchar delivered some good each way returns for me earlier in the season when he had a runner-up and a 3rd place finish in successive starts. He has held his form quite well since then and was Top 35 in the US PGA before taking a week off.
Kuchar’s recent appearances at Muirfield have been nothing to write home about, but his game was generally off over those years and if you look back you will see he has excellent course form including a victory here back in 2013 and in a 6 year stretch he finished no worse than 26th with a couple of Top 5’s and two Top 15’s to go with his victory. Kuchar has clearly refocused his game and I like his chances of a strong finish this week
Click here to bet on all Memorial Tournament Challenge markets
